This invention relates to an igniter for an internal combustion engine. More particularly, it relates to an igniter for a multi-channel ignition system.
A multi-channel ignition system has a plurality of drive circuits connected to a single ignition coil. By individually controlling the drive circuits, the interval between successive firings of a spark plug can be adjusted. A drive signal from each drive circuit is applied to the same ignition coil. In a conventional multi-channel ignition system, when the interval between two successive firings becomes small, the drive signal from one drive circuit may overlap the drive signal from the other drive circuit, causing destructive interference in the secondary winding of the ignition coil. As a result, an ignition voltage having a desired peak value can not be generated in the secondary winding for the second of two successive firings, so the spark plug can not generate a good spark for the second firing.